Slender Cat
by timtam2400
Summary: Azusa is alone. She has no idea where she is or how she got there. As she makes her way around, she finds mysterious pages and feels that she needs to collect them. But something is stalking her in the darkness. All comments welcome. Slender Star was the inspiration for this fic. I chose to use one character for simplicity's sake.
1. Stalked

_Where am I? How did I get here?_ These thoughts filled Azusa's head. The cool night air embraced her body. Crickets chirped loudly. The ground under her feet crunched with each step. She tried to work out her location and how she got here, but her mind remained blank.

 _I'll bet this is some prank thought up by Yui-sempai and Ritsu-sempai._ Pointing her flashlight around, she surveyed her surroundings. The beam lit up the area in front of her. As the catgirl walked, the beam hit an object ahead. Stepping back, Azusa shone her flashlight up. _I think this is a silo._ Walking around, a stained rectangular object caught her eye.

Pointing her flashlight at it, she saw a sheet of paper stuck to the silo. As she investigated, a strange feeling filled her mind. _I think... I need to take this._ Pulling the page off the wall, she looked closer. The words 'HELP ME' were messily scrawled down. This added to Azusa's confusion. _Where_ am _I?_ Looking around, she called out.

"Hello? Yui-sempai, you can come out now. This joke isn't funny anymore, guys." The only reply were the chirping crickets. Determined to get to the bottom of things, she headed off again. As she walked, the kouhai couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. After a couple minutes, she came across a pile of large rocks.

Stuck to the face of one was another page. Shining her beam at the page, Azusa saw it had a drawing of a stick man surrounded by trees. _What does this mean?_ Sensing movement behind her, she spun round and shone her flashlight out. "Who's there?" Straining her eyes, she peered into the trees, but saw nothing. _I must be hearing things._

Putting the page in her pocket, she followed the path and shortly came across a fork. To her right, she could just make out what looked like the edge of a wall. Deciding to see what was there, she headed over. As she looked it over, she saw that the wall was shaped like a cross. Her beam flashed over a rectangular object. It was another page.

 _How many of these are there? Maybe if I find them all, I can get out of here._ This 3rd page said 'DON'T LOOK... OR IT TAKES YOU' and had a stick figure drawn. A sudden movement caught Azusa's eye. Shining her flashlight out, she saw a figure standing amongst the trees. Squinting her eyes, she saw what looked like a man. A shudder rippled through her body. _I have a bad feeling about that guy._

Turning away, she quickly headed back the way she came. _Right, I came from that direction, so I should head this way._ Continuing on her way, an uneasy feeling filled her body. She looked behind her. Nothing. She looked ahead again, and immediately regretted it. The strange man stood yards from her, motionless.

The close proximity allowed Azusa to get a good look at him. He stood around 6 to 7 feet tall, with long arms. He wore a black suit, like the kind worn at weddings. His face was pale white and had no features. Looking at him filled Azusa with fear. _Who is that? What does he want?_ Seeing a path to her left, she quickly left the area.

The path ended rather quickly, with chopped down trees bordering it. Stopping to gather herself, the catgirl realized her hands were trembling. Looking around, her eyes fell upon another page. Pulling it from the tree, she saw the words 'ALWAYS WATCHES, NO EYES'. Her heart tightened. Looking around, she saw nothing.

 _If this is a dream, I'd really like to wake up now._ Her pounding heart echoed in her ears. An alarm bell suddenly rang in her brain. Slowly raising her flashlight to her right, a black suit filled the beam. Fear taking over, Azusa sprinted away through the trees. Spying what looked like oil tanks, she ran behind the closest one and pressed her back against it, panting loudly.

 _What is going on?! Who_ is _that?!_ Peeking around the end of the tank, she shone her flashlight out. Slowly sweeping the beam around, she scanned for her pursuer. Seeing nothing, she breathed a sigh of relief. Putting her hand on the metal surface, she felt paper. _Another page._ Pulling it down, she read 'CAN'T RUN'.

Azusa was slowly beginning to crack. _What is going on? Am I ever getting out of here?_ Poking her head out again, she scanned the area. All was quiet, for now. Making her way to the other end of the tank, she looked around again. All quiet. _I need to move. I'm too exposed here._ Taking a deep breath, she ran. The flashlight beam bounced along the ground. A wall quickly appeared. _What's that?_

Stepping back, she shone her flashlight up and down the wall. It dipped away to her left, so she headed that way to investigate. A doorway appeared through the gloom. Looking inside, Azusa could just see another door at the far end, and a passage on each wall. Her gut was telling her that going in would be a bad idea, but her mind said that the shelter would be good. She wouldn't last in the open.

The alarm bell in her head rang again. She looked behind her slowly. The beam of light caught a familiar black suit. He was close. Deciding indoors was better than outdoors, the kouhai hurried through the open doorway. A passage greeted her on either side. _Which way do I go?_ The passages looked identical. Sensing that the man was nearby, she went right. Following the passage, she came to a fork.

 _Great. Another choice. Well, I went right before..._ Heading left, she rounded a corner and came to a dead-end. _Maybe this was a bad idea._ Shining her flashlight around, she spotted another page. She pulled it off the wall. The contents made her blood run cold. The page had a tree, a stick figure, and the word 'FOLLOWS'. _Does this mean I can't get away from him, or it?_ As she started to turn to leave, her gut screamed at her to freeze. Stopping dead still, she felt a presence right behind her.

Terrified, the catgirl dropped the page. Gulping, she ever so slowly looked over her shoulder. A white face filled her vision. The night air was then filled with a blood-curdling scream.


	2. Relief

"... usa. Azusa."

Her eyes flying open, Azusa flew upright and looked around wildly. "Where...? What...?"

A pair of hands grabbed her face. "Azusa!"

Azusa blinked a few times. A face materialized in front of her. Not a white featureless face, a human face. "M... mom?"

The gentle face of her mother came into focus. "It's okay sweetie. You were having a nightmare."

Her heart filling with relief, Azusa grabbed her mom and began crying. "Mom, I'm so glad it's you."

Smiling, Ms. Nakano hugged her daughter. "Of course it's me, honey. It's alright now."

The tears poured uncontrollably. "It was so scary. I was all alone, and this guy was chasing me, and..."

Azusa's mom stroked her daughter's head. "Shh, shh, it's okay Azusa. It was just a bad dream. There's no-one chasing you." She tightened her hold. After a few minutes, Azusa's tears stopped. "All better?"

Azusa nodded, blushing at her emotional outburst. "Yes..."

Her mom smiled. "Sweetie, there's nothing wrong with crying after having a nightmare. Goodness knows how many times I did it when I was your age."

This brought a small smile to the kouhai's face. Her mom then started to leave, when Azusa grabbed her arm. "Um... Could you stay a bit please? I don't think I'll be able to fall asleep again by myself."

Smiling again, Ms. Nakano settled into bed by Azusa. Stroking her head, she hummed a lullaby until Azusa had nodded off again. Taking care not to wake her, she tucked her sleeping daughter into bed and quietly left the room. "Sweet dreams, my angel."

THE END


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